Entering its seventh year, the “Garden Smart – Garden Easy” program, designed and presented by the Delaware Master Gardeners – Sussex County, promotes and shares the joy of gardening while demonstrating how to make gardening available to individuals with age, mobility, space or time limitations.

The program is the result of Extension’s observation of a need in their local communities. Retirees are drawn to Delaware, specifically Sussex County, due to affordable housing and low property taxes, no sales tax, and a slower pace of living. With the aging population, more health-related organizations such as hospitals, physical and occupational therapy organizations have sprung up, thus the need for Sussex County Master Gardeners to respond with educational tips for aging gardeners.

Launched in 2010, Master Gardeners continue to share information with the public via hands-on and interactive presentations and information tables at community events, tours, local civic and gardening clubs, hospital events attended by patients, health care and other staff, seminars and support groups such as the Arthritis Foundation, and many University of Delaware/Extension-sponsored outreach events in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Information is also provided in news articles, tri-fold brochures, posters, and other handouts. The Garden Smart – Garden Easy program is easy for new master gardeners to participate in, good information for an aging population and their adult children, adaptable for children with physical limitations or adults with little time for gardening.

Since its inception, almost 6,000 gardeners or prospective gardeners have learned about ergonomically-designed tools or the benefits of adapting existing tools to accommodate gardeners with limitations, benches, kneeling pads, hoses, irrigation systems, planting flowers in container gardens and raised bed gardens, safetytips for working in the garden for those with strength or weaknesses, and designing garden paths accessible by wheelchairs, scooters, or walkers.

The “Garden Smart – Garden Easy” program is presented in several forms. First, in a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation that includes a Question and Answer session and a hands-on demonstration of tools. Involving the audience is important for this successful program One-on-one communication provides a valuable opportunity to address the attendees’ specific needs and concerns. Fact sheets and other handouts are also provided. While manning informational tables at events, the PowerPoint presentation is replaced with an instructional poster. Workshops held at the Sussex County Extension office include a garden tour of our demonstration garden where examples of raised beds and other tips can be seen and considered by the participants for their own benefit.

Master Gardeners feature many tips that can assist gardeners with physical challenges such as mobility, fine motor coordination, eye-hand coordination, decreased strength or stamina, vision impairment, flexibility challenges, poor balance, chronic pain, sensitivity to heat, sun or cold, as well as time and space limitations.

A five-foot piece of PVC and a funnel can be used as a seed planter and prevents bending.

A light-weight hose, soaker hose, water kits, timers all make watering gardens easier.

Table gardens can be used on a deck or patio where garden space is not available.

Using a wheel barrow with two wheels provides better balance, or a lightweight garden cart with wide handles that is pulled instead of lifted like a wheel barrow is excellent for people with back problems.

Using empty milk bottles or plastic “peanuts” for the bottom of large containers saves soil and is lighter to lift or using light-weight potting soil keeps containers lighter.

Kneeling pads or benches help those with arthritic knees.

Using a tool carrier or carpenter’s apron for frequently-used garden tools.

Grow Your Own Greens With Salad Tables™ and Salad Boxes™ – University of Maryland Cooperative Extension
* Master Gardeners assisted in creation of these documents.

There is minimal start-up and continued costs: $600.00 for appropriate tools and $100.00 for a poster. Donations from businesses, master gardeners, and the county extension agent enhanced the collection of ergonomically-efficient tools used in the program. Printing of brochures, flyers, handouts, and posters, is provided by the Sussex County Extension office. Twenty Sussex County Master Gardener volunteers are active in the program.